Contents

In the games

A Poké Maniac in Generation VI

In Red and Blue, cosplay is referenced by a PokéManiac in Rock Tunnel. The PokéManiac asks if Red has heard of costume players. After defeat, he explains that costume players dress up as Pokémon for fun.

In the Who's That Pokémon? for the Japanese version of The Bug Stops Here, Jessie turns out to be the subject, cosplaying as a Venomoth. In the Japanese episodes, Who's That Pokémon? is called Dare da?, or Who is it?, so when the "Pokémon" is revealed and the narrator says "Venomoth", the children shout "Wrong!"

In the manga

In the Pokémon RéBURST manga

While cosplay doesn't officially appear in most Pokémon manga, there is a technique based on Pokémon cosplay in the Pokémon RéBURST manga called Burst. Unlike usual Pokémon cosplay, the Burst techniques are used for battle purposes.

Pokémon.com

When it was relaunched in January 2010, Pokémon.com added a Pokémon Trainer Club, where players play games and earn coins to buy clothing at a Trainer store, some of which are Pokémon costumes.

Donphan costume and pieces of the Liepard costume

Heracross and Pinsir costumes

Gengar costume

Mudkip, Torchic, and Treecko costumes

In the fandom

Like most anime, manga, and video game fandoms, cosplay is common within the Pokémon fandom. Most fans will dress up as human characters from the games and anime such as Ash, Team Rocket, female generational protagonists Misty, May, or Dawn, Officer Jenny, or Nurse Joy. Many females crossplay as either Ash or James because of their youthful male looks, commonly known in Japan as bishōnen, or "bishie" for short in English. Still, it is far from unheard of for fans to dress up in costumes of their favorite Pokémon species, especially if it is in the kigurumi or gijinka style of cosplay. Kigurumi is basically a hooded coverall pajama jumpsuit disguise of a character like Pikachu, while a gijinka (also called "moe anthropomorphism") is a human form of a species. Because of the popularity of Pikachu as the mascot of the Pokémon franchise, many young women dress in a Sweet Lolita style of dress at conventions.